1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for removing enamel from the nails. More specifically, the invention relates to a device for removing enamel from the fingernails or toenails, by permitting only those nail portions on where the enamel is applied to be brought into contact with, and rubbed onto, the spongy member impregnated with a removing solution along a fan-like curved surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
A manicure (nail enamel) is one of the makeup methods performed for the fingernails. A manicure that is applied to the toenails is called pedicure. Both of them are beauty treatments for applying a clear or colored enamel onto the nails. The manicure chiefly comprises a film-forming agent such as nitrocellulose, resins that impart luster and adhesive property to the film, a solvent such as plasticizer, alcohol, ester or ketones, and a coloring material which may be a dye or a pigment. Hereinafter, the manicure includes the pedicure unless stated otherwise.
In recent years, it has been discovered that the nitrocellulose which is a film-forming agent reacts with keratin which is a protein that constitutes the nail causing the nail to become yellow. Therefore, there has been developed the one which uses an emulsified polymer and water using neither the nitrocellulose nor the organic solvent, which, however, has not yet been widely used.
A solvent and an alkali solution have heretofore been used as a removing solution (delustering solution) for removing the manicure film. That is, a spongy material which may be simply a dewaxed cotton or a sponge (inclusive of soft plastic foamed material) is impregnated with the removing solution and is used to simply wipe the nails. Therefore, it often happens that the removing solution adheres to the fingers and toes in addition to the manicure films, the manicure dissolved in the removing solution adheres to the vicinities making it difficult to completely remove the manicure and, besides, a large amount of the removing solution adheres to the nails and to the fingertips causing the nails and the fingertips to be hurt. Due to such a dangerous nature and bother of use, quite a few of women hesitate to use the manicure.
Besides, the conventional manicure-removing solution evaporates into the atmosphere through a small gap and vanishes. When the cap is not tightly closed or when left to stand for extended periods of time, the manicure-removing solution often fails to work, which is a problem.
The present inventor, therefore, has previously contrived a simply constructed device for effectively removing the manicure solving the above-mentioned problem and on which patent was granted already (Japanese Patent No. 2741487, entitled Device for Removing Manicure).
The inventor, however, has still found inadequacy in the above invention and has attempted to further improve the invention.
The inventor has discovered that upon pivoting a finger protection sheath at an end thereof on the bottom of a container, the positioning can be accomplished maintaining improved precision and upon forming a cavity in an elastic flange portion to store the removing solution and supplying the removing solution into the container through a small hole utilizing the finger pressure, the device can be put into use even when the spongy member in the cylinder is dried. The inventor has thus accomplished the device for removing enamel featuring a long life (Japanese Patent Application No. 103339/2000). With the structure in which the lower central portion of the finger protection sheath of a hollow conical shape having bottom is pivoted to the central portion of the bottom of the container, however, the exposed nail portion is not still selectively brought into contact with the spongy member to a sufficient degree.
Without any cover for the exposed nail portion, further, it is likely that even undesired surfaces of the fingers other than the nails are wiped.